WOMEN STATUS IN RUSSIAN/SOVIETSOCITEY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO GEORGE ORWELL'SANIMAL FARM

Noorul Amin; Salman Hamid Khan

Noorul Amin Islamia College Peshawar
Salman Hamid Khan

Keywords: Women emancipation, Peter the Great, Catherin the Great, Anna PavlovnaFilosofova, Alexandra Kollontai, Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, Bulgakov, Feministic Elements

Abstract

This research paper seeks to explore the representation of early 20th Century Russian/Soviet women as depicted in George Orwell's novel, Animal Farm. The novel represents, in the form of an allegory, a vivid picture of the Soviet Russian society replete with injustices of communist regime. The story centrally focuses on the major political event of the century i.e. The Great Russian October 1917 Revolution, and the resultant changes in social, political, economic and gender relations. The study focuses on the status of Russian women, in transition of Russian society from capitalist to communist system, as portrayed in George Orwell's Animal Farm. This paper portrays Russian/Soviet women in some of Russian/Soviet writings translated into English, describe the role of women in Russian revolution, evaluate impact of Russian revolution on women emancipation and status of Soviet Russian women, and assess George Orwell's depiction of Russian/Soviet women in Animal Farm, keeping in view Russian/Soviet women emancipation. The exclusion and oppression of women and their rights is depicted in the lack of distinctive female voices in the text. This paper asserts that through the imagery and allusion used in the text, the patriarchal and male-centric nature of post-revolution Russia has been subtly portrayed by Orwell behind the larger satirical work upon communism. Thisaspect is left untouched by researchers; this paper adds a new dimension to the interpretation of the novel which deals more with the place that women occupied in the then USSR. Theresearch paperwill help future researchers inunderstanding thefeministic elements in George Orwell's novel.

References

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